Area of Invention
(a) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a utility belt attachment by which one or more tennis balls, golf balls or the like may be held for the purpose of drying the same if they become wet, for transport of such tennis or golf balls, securely holding and covering one or more such articles, before or during practice or the play of a match, and for use as a pet toy.
(b) Prior Art
Devices for the holding of a tennis ball and, to a lesser extent, a golf ball, for the general purpose of keeping tennis balls and the like in a convenient location until such time that their use, whether as a tennis ball or for the entertainment of a pet such as a dog, is needed, has long existed in the art. That is, the prior art known to the inventor includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,256 (1977) to Beer et al, entitled Tennis Ball Holder To Be Worn On The Arm. Devices of the category of Beer do not provide any particular function in the drying of a ball that has become wet or saturated and, as such, if a wet tennis ball is inserted into the structure of Beer, moisture will drip therefrom and otherwise render it uncomfortable and inconvenient to use in the contemplated application.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,762 (1983) to Carini, entitled Game Ball Holder, teaches a special-purpose strap or holding means for integration into a garment such as tennis shorts or a tennis skirt and, as such, serves largely the same limited purpose as Beer above, that is, it is not suitable for use with a ball which is damp or moist. In fact, it is less suitable than Beer in that the tennis garment into which the ball holding means is integrated will itself become wet due to direct contact with the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,427 (1989) to McManus, teaches a so-called Tennis Utility Belt which, fundamentally, relates to a belt placed about the waist of a tennis player and which includes a plurality of elastic tennis ball retention cages attached thereto. However, by encirclement of the waist by the tennis utility belt, the tennis balls, if wet or moist, will affect the tennis garment worn by the player thereby eventually causing discomfort and, actually, at a level which is a multiple of that in the case of Carini, discussed above.
In view of the above, it may be appreciated that a need exists for a tennis, golf or other article holder which can be held whether or not the article becomes wet and which is less likely to induce dripping or the like onto the clothing of a user thereof. While the complete elimination of dripping or escape of moisture is not possible if the ball or article is to effectively dry over a period of time, the present invention presents a system in which a tennis ball, golf ball, rubber ball of the type which dogs enjoy chewing upon or other article may be stored conveniently upon a belt loop, key chain, back pack, hand bag or other such article and then conveniently opened at the convenience of the user or dog owner when access to the article is desired.